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Singer Macy Gray Says ‘America Should Get a New Flag’ With New Proposed Design

Singer/song-writer Macy Gray said the United States should redesign its tattered flag in order to better reflect its citizens.

The Grammy-Award winner described the flag as “tattered, dated, divisive, and incorrect.” And she submitted a redesign. Macy Gray proposed all this in an op-ed for the financial site MarketWatch.com. She penned the column to commemorate Juneteenth. President Joe Biden signed a bill Thursday that made Juneteenth a federal holiday.

The United States hasn’t changed the flag since Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state on Aug. 21, 1959. Eight months earlier, the US included Alaska as state No. 49.

Macy Gray wrote that the insurrectionists, or “stormers” as she called them, who invaded the Capitol, Jan. 6, tainted the American flag. She said they switched it out with the Confederate Battle Flag.

She then addressed the country’s leaders:

“President Biden, Madame Harris and members of Congress: the American flag has been hijacked as code for a specific belief. God bless those believers, they can have it. Like the Confederate, it is tattered, dated, divisive, and incorrect. It no longer represents democracy and freedom. It no longer represents ALL of us. It’s not fair to be forced to honor it. It’s time for a new flag.”

MarketWatch tweeted an image of Gray’s suggested replacement. “OPINION: “Sixty-two years later, in 2021, we have changed and it’s time for a reset, a transformation. One that represents all states and all of us,” writes singer Macy Gray.”

Macy Gray Said Country is ‘Great,’ But Not ‘Pure’

Americans know that the 13 alternating red and white stripes represent the 13 original colonies. And each star on the blue background is a state. As the country grew since the flag first was adopted in 1777, the stripes remained the same. But the blue portion of the flag with the stars has evolved. Coincidentally, the country celebrated Flag Day last Monday.

There will be a new design when/if the United States adds another state. Currently, there are lobbying efforts for both Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

Macy Gray questioned the use of white in the flag. She wrote “Smithsonian documents that the ‘white” stripes represent purity and innocence.” 

She added: “America is great. It is beautiful. Pure, it ain’t. It is broken and in pieces.”

“What if the stripes were OFF-white?” she questioned. “What if the stars were the colors of ALL of us — your skin tone and mine — like the melanin scale?

“The blue square represents vigilance and perseverance; and the red stripes stand for valor. America is all of those things,” Gray wrote. 

Macy Gray, 53, is known for her raspy, unique voice. Her biggest success came in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Her single I Try won her a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.